Jamal Berry, a current Ohio State commitment for the class of 2010 and a four-star running back out of the Miami, FL area was arrested for felony drug possession this week.  Florida has extremely strict laws in place with regard to drug possession and early information indicates that he will face felony drug possession charges even though he and his group of friends had under one ounce of marijuana.  AbsolutePigskin.com has learned that Berry was with some friends and visited a house in hopes of purchasing some pot.  Unfortunately for Berry and his friends the house was under surveillance by the police and they were promptly arrested.  There has been no comment from the Ohio State athletic department or coaching staff concerning Berry's status with Ohio State.

I'm sure Mr. Berry is a good kid who just made a mistake.  That being said there is simply no place for Berry on the Ohio State Buckeyes team.  I see it time and time again across the landscape of not only college football but many high profile division I-A programs around the country.  Star athletes get into trouble and largely their problems get swept under the rug with little to no consequences.  This simply is maddening to me no matter where the kid is going to school.  Your average high school senior or college student gets into similar trouble and those kids are not as likely to get off easy whether it be with the law or with their college of choice.  More often than not those kids are taught the hard life lesson that all decisions you make have consequences.  You make a good decision the consequences are good, you make a bad decision such as the one Mr. Berry made and more often than not the consequences are bad.  Sure it is not a pleasant experience but more often than not I'm willing to bet the kids who are forced to face the consequences come out the other side as better and stronger individuals.  When they are not faced with any consequences they are bound to repeat similar mistakes over and over again.

It astonishes me that kids in the position of Jamaal Berry who have the opportunity to play football and get a free education from almost any university they want still wind up making such poor decisions.  Kids like Jamaal who run into similar problems must face consequences for their actions.  This is not a question of whether or not you think marijuana should be legalized in the country or how much marijana Jamaal and his friends actually had when caught.  Instead it is lesson of life that many need to learn.  Bad decisions = bad consequences.  Jamaal chose Ohio State as the preferred destination for him to embark on his college football career and in the process receive guidance from coach Jim Tressel.  In this situation the best guidance that coach Tressel can give Mr. Berry is by simply not allowing him to ever suit up for the Ohio State Buckeyes.  I wish nothing but the best for Mr. Berry and hope that the young man learns from the error or his ways.  I hope he realizes the important life lesson that bad decisions have consequences.  Berry is a talent and will make an impact on the field for whatever team he ends up playing for if he ever ends up playing football again once these legal situations are taken care of.

Still, Jim Tressel can teach players like Berry  and the entirety of the Ohio State football team more about life by not allowing Jamaal to join the team than he ever could any other way.  I hope and pray that coach Tressel makes the correct decision and I hope Jamaal learns his lesson and comes through this a stronger individual.